HUDDERSFIELD engineering company David Brown is to axe up to 95 jobs, it was confirmed today.

The company, part of US giant Textron, proposes to get rid of 70 workers at its Lockwood headquarters and 25 at its Penistone factory.

The redundancies will hit employees making pumps and gears at both sites.

The job losses are part of a package of cuts being made across Textron's fluid and power division worldwide.

A spokesman for the company said the cuts were needed to end "duplication of activities" in the division - with several sites making similar products.

Both shopfloor and office-based employees would be affected.

The spokesman said the action was regrettable, but added: "Effective action to reduce costs now offers the best long-term prospects for creating the business success necessary to enhance job security."

The company was seeking volunteers for redundancy and hoped to avoid compul- sory redundancies.

Talks are now under way with officials from the Amicus engineering and electrical union.

Colne Valley Labour MP Kali Mountford, whose constituency includes David Brown's Park Road Works at Lockwood, said she was saddened by the announcement.

"I have offered to speak to the Employment Service and the Department of Trade and Industry if the company want their help to assist those being made redundant find other work," she said.

She was glad the company was seeking voluntary redundancies first but was disappointed that job cuts could not be avoided.

David Brown emp- loys 530 people at Lockwood and 160 at Penistone making pumps and gears for the petroleum processing, oil, gas and power generation industries.

It was founded in 1860 as a gear pattern-maker and was bought by Textron in 1998.